Teenage Dirtbag
by All Things Degrassi
Summary: Dani's life has never been 'normal' and so when her mom gets a new job and moves them from their home in Kapuskasing to Toronto in the middle of her sophomore year, she takes it as a chance to re-invent herself. But with her brother's impending trial and the drama that fills the halls of Degrassi, can she keep her life the way she planned?
1. Prologue

_Wow, it's been a minute since I've been on here. I've kind of been feeling in the mood for Degrassi fanfics lately. I hope you guys enjoy this!_

"Ah, it's good to be home," mom chirps as she sets the last of the many boxes down inside our new house, "Daniela, why don't you start unpacking your stuff in your room?" _How about because I don't want to? Or maybe because I didn't want to move to Toronto halfway through my sophomore year and I'm convinced if I don't unpack I can just move back to Kapuskasing?_

Instead of actually responding, I just huff and walk into the large, bland, white room that is supposed to be my new bedroom. Why, oh why, did my mom have to get a job transfer halfway through the school year? Letting out a sigh, I open up the box labeled 'clothing' and start to unpack it so I at least have something to wear to school tomorrow. As I'm unpacking I feel my phone buzz in my pocket. Looking down I see a text from my brother.

 _Hey, baby doll. Heard you were in Toronto. The judge just cleared me. 1 month on parole. Hearing set for February 2nd…text me how your first day at the new school goes. –AJ_

I smile and text him back a quick 'will do' before putting my phone back in my pocket and continuing to unpack in case mom walked in. Technically, I'm not supposed to have any contact with my brother since, technically, he is still in prison but what my parents don't know won't hurt them. I finish unpacking all my clothes and put my guitars in the corner of my room, making a mental note to make sure to look into the music programs at Degrassi tomorrow. I'm unpacking the rest of the boxes when I find a box of hair extensions that I meant to use for Halloween but never got around to. _Hm, guess we'll just have to see if it's still good._

* * *

"Daniela Renee Ramirez! Get up this instant! You are going to be late for your first day of-WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOUR HAIR?" Mom screams as soon as she sees my hair.

I smirk and sling my backpack over my shoulder, knowing this would only annoy her further, "It looks great, right? Now, c'mon, we don't want me to be late on the first day, now do we?"

She doesn't say anything, just walks out to her car and gets in. I snicker to myself before hopping into the car. The ride to Degrassi is silent with the occasional glare from my mom and a muttering of 'why is it always my kids' under her breath. She pulls up in front of the school and sighs, unlocking the passenger side door for me. I hop out and grab Merlin, my acoustic guitar, and my backpack before starting to walk away. I'm about five steps from the car when I turn around and duck back inside, kissing mom on the cheek.

"See you tonight, mom."

With that, I jog up the steps and push the doors open, ignoring all the stares as I walk into the building. I quickly find my locker and start to put my stuff away before grabbing what I need for my first few periods and closing my locker and making my way to my first class. As I'm walking towards what I hope is my English class, I run straight into a girl who's too busy texting to notice me coming.

She looks at me from her spot sprawled out on the ground and glares, "Watch where you're going, freak!"

She storms away angrily and I start to gather all my stuff. _Great first impression you made there, Dani! Way to make friends!_

"Here," a voice breaks through my thoughts and I glance up to see an arm holding out my song book to me. My eyes trail upwards from the arm to a pair of glinting green eyes and a wide smirk.

"Uh thanks."

He helps me collect the rest of my stuff and pulls me up, "Sorry about Zoe. She's...uh...she's a special case. I'm Zig, by the way."

"Zig, huh? I'm Dani, nice to meet you," I smile back at him, "Do you happen to know where Mr. Del Rossi's English class is?"

"Yeah, I was actually headed there myself. C'mon."

* * *

 _Side note: Cam is alive in this, he and Maya are still together, and this is set in sophomore year._


	2. Chapter 1

"Here we are," Zig says as we reach a classroom filled with students, "Mr. Del Rossi's English class. Come on, let me introduce you to my friends." I follow him over to a group of...eclectic...looking teenagers.

"Hey, Novak," the chick with blue tipped hair and a lip ring yells, "Who's your new girlfriend?"

I blush and look up at Zig, who's about a foot taller than me, and he just rolls his eyes, "Ha ha. Very funny, Grace. This is Dani, she's new here."

"Hi, Dani," the petite blonde says, sticking out her hand to me, "I'm Maya," she gestures to the other two, "and this is Grace and Tiny."

"Nice to meet you guys."

The rest of my morning passes quickly and soon it's lunch time. I spot Maya, Zig, Grace, and Tiny sitting with a bleach blonde boy and a guy in a letterman jacket so I start to make my way over to them. As I get closer, Maya looks up and waves me over.

She turns to the boy in the letterman next to her and the bleach blonde boy across the table, "Tristan, Cam, have you met-"

The boy in the letterman's head snaps up and our eyes meet, making me gasp in shock.

"Holy shit!"

"No way!"

We just stare at each other in shock for a few minutes before he finally gets up from the table and hugs me, "I've missed you so much."

Once we're both seated again, I notice Maya staring between us, a mixture of jealousy and irritation on her face, "You two know each other?"

"Uh yeah," Cam scratches the back of his head awkwardly, probably picking up on the same vibes I am, "We...uh...we grew up together. Her family moved in next door to me when I was like eight."

"Oh." An awkward silence follows after that and I have to resist the urge to run and hide. It's pretty obvious Maya doesn't like the fact that I know her boyfriend and am really close friends with him.

In an attempt to switch topics, the bleach blonde, Tristan, says, "So, Maya, how's the music going?"

Maya immediately brightens, "Great! I'm holding auditions for my band after school in the music room."

Cam must have sensed this as a great bonding experience for his girlfriend and me because he glances at me before looking at Maya, "You should have Dani audition." _What? No! Bad idea, Cam!_

"Uh, I don't really think-" Cam looks at her like a helpless puppy and she sighs before turning to me, "What instrument do you play?"

"Depends," I shrug, "I can play acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, piano, and keyboard."

"She also writes her own music," Cam pipes up and I'm tempted to throw something at him. Can't he tell I'm trying not to be killed by his girlfriend?

She just lets out an agitated sigh and stands up, "I guess I'll see you at the audition then, Dani." _Oh goodie, it's day one and I've already pissed off my best friend's girlfriend. Just add that to the list of things that could go wrong today._

* * *

"Cam, I really don't think this is a good idea. She obviously doesn't want me there." I protest as Cam literally drags me to the music room. _Not to mention I'm pretty sure she'd rather have me dead right now._

"Nonsense, Dani," he shakes his head, "She just needs to see how good you are." _No, Cam, I really don't think she does._

I just sigh, defeated, as we reach the music room and Cam shoves me inside. Maya doesn't even glance up as I enter and sit down.

"What will you be playing for us today?"

"What?"

She rolls her eyes, "The song. What song are you going to play today?" _Right._

"I-" My phone buzzes and I glance down to see a text from Alex. _Meet me for hot cocoa in 10? -AJ_

 _Crap, Cam is going to kill me._ I sigh and pick up my guitar, "Actually, Maya, I have something I have to do. But thanks for the opportunity."


	3. Chapter 2

"Well, well, well," I look up from my phone and immediately am met by the mischievous smirk of my brother, "My baby sister is all grown up." Despite the five years apart, he still manages to look the same; same icy blue eyes that could kill you with one look, same jet-black hair that fell in his eyes, and the same stupid smirk that made me want to slap him repeatedly. I shake my head and smile at him. Alex grins and gestures for me to sit down at one of the tables in the corner. A few minutes later, he joins me, setting two cups of hot chocolate down on the table.

"So," he glances at me over the top of the mug as he sips on the hot chocolate, "how was your first day?"

I let out a groan and run a hand through my hair, "Terrible, thanks for asking."

Alex doesn't look surprised, just chuckles and continues to sip his drink, "Ah, it couldn't have been _that_ bad, it was only the first day."

"Oh, but it was," I sigh, "To start off with, I apparently ran into the school's queen bee this morning and then, just when I think I'm making friends, I manage to piss off Cam's girlfriend-"

"Hold up, Cam…as in Saunders?"

I smile at the surprised look on his face, "The one and only. And that's not all. His girlfriend's forming a band and Cam wants me to join."

He raises an eyebrow, "So are you going to?"

I shrug, "Considering I walked out of the audition to be here and Cam is probably going to have a hissy fit about it, probably not."

"I'm sorry, you what? Music is your life. Why would you do that?"

"I missed you." As soon as it leaves my mouth, whatever Alex was planning to say leaves his mind and he closes his mouth. We sit there in this newfound awkward silence for a few minutes before he lets out a sigh and stands up, pulling on his jacket.

"I have to get back to the house for my meeting with my parole officer," he turns to me before leaving, "but seriously kiddo, think about that audition."

* * *

"Where did you run off to yesterday?"

I resist the urge to scream at the sound of the voice behind me. Turning around I see Cam staring at me with a quirked eyebrow, an annoyed expression on his face. I knew he was going to be annoyed with me after I ditched the audition but I didn't have much of a choice considering the reason I left was my brother for Pete's sake.

"Do you know how hard it was for me to convince Maya to let you audition?"

"Cam," I groan, "I'm sorry, okay? But something came up."

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

Glancing around to make sure we're alone, I whisper, "Like Alex, okay?"

His eyes go wide and his mouth drops open, "What? He's out? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because," I shrug, "I didn't want to say anything until after the trial. He's only on parole right now," I can see the hurt in Cam's eyes and feel bad, "But I promise you I'll keep you in the loop from now on. Now c'mon, walk me to English, hockey head."

He rolls his eyes but grabs my guitar from me and walks with me to my English class. When we get to the doorway I give him a hug and promise to stay out of trouble before going to sit down at the back of the classroom.

As I'm walking back to my seat I notice Maya glaring intensely at me and inwardly groan. I forgot she was in this class with me. The rest of the morning passes by pretty uneventfully until music class.

"Hello, class," our teacher, Ms. Oh, greets us, "Today I will be assigning your project for this week. I want you guys to focus on a song that means something to you. We will be presenting these songs on Friday." _A song that means something to me...great. Just what I need right now._

That afternoon I slip into one of the empty music rooms to practice my song for Friday. The song I plan on using is one I wrote a few years ago for my brother called I Forgive You. Taking out my guitar and hopping up on a stool, I start to play the opening chords of the song. Closing my eyes, I allow the music to overtake me. As I finish playing the song I hear clapping from the doorway and let out a high pitched squeal of surprise, nearly toppling off the stool as I spin around to face the intruder.

"Sorry," he smirks, not seeming the least bit sorry, "but damn. Cam wasn't kidding when he said you were a great guitarist."

I can feel myself blushing as I pack up my guitar, "Thanks but I think Cam over exaggerated just a bit."

"Are you kidding? That was amazing! Is that the song you're going to play for music class?"

"Yeah."

"Cool," Zig smiles at me and I can feel myself blushing all over again, "I think even Maya will be impressed."

* * *

 _Hey guys, so the song is I Forgive You by Kelly Pickler, in case you were wondering._


End file.
